Archive for September, 2018

On September 5, The New York Times published an op-ed by an anonymous author who claims to be a top official of the Trump administration. The author describes him- or herself as a representative of the “resistance” among high officials working within the Trump administration. The author makes clear that this “resistance” is not “the popular ‘resistance’ of the left.” Instead, the author represents the resistance of the Republican wing of what I call the “Party of Order.”

What is the program of this “resistance”?

The op-ed author hails Trump’s “effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military and more.” This is the program of the Republican faction – and to a considerable extent the Democratic faction as well (2) — of the Party of Order. It includes an increase in the freedom of capital to pump more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere while leaking additional methane through his “relaxation” of regulation of the natural gas industry.

All these policies aim at increasing the rate of profit for the owners of capital at the expense of the working class and Mother Earth. The author also “supports” deep tax cuts for the rich with the intention of undermining social security, unemployment insurance, Medicare and Medicaid. Again, the aim is to raise the rate of profit on invested capital.

And not least, the op-ed writer supports spending more on the already “robust military,” as the author put it, so the U.S. empire can continue to terrorize the world. So if our Party of Order author is so enthusiastic about Trump’s policies, why “resist” Trump at all?

Trump versus free trade

The official complains that Trump’s “impulses are generally anti-trade and anti-democratic.” Notice the order. The biggest problem with Trump is that he is “anti-trade,” and as a kind of afterthought he is also “anti-democratic.” One is reminded of the words from the Communist Manifesto: “It [the capitalist class — SW] has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom — Free Trade.” So that’s the real problem with Trump. He is against “free trade.”

Our op-ed writer further complains, “In public and in private, President Trump shows a preference for autocrats and dictators, such as President Vladimir Putin of Russia and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and displays little genuine appreciation for the ties that bind us to allied, like-minded nations.”